Coming to your first Judo session can be scary so hopefully after reading this article you will be able to know what to expect when you turn up for the first time. First off I recommend you arrive to the dojo at least 20 minutes BEFORE training, there is nothing worse than a beginner arriving late to Judo. It is courteous and respectful to arrive on time. If you are late, make sure you apologise to the instructor for being late.
Always line up in belt order
Lining up at the start of the session
At the very start of a judo session there will more often then not, be a line up. This is when everyone lines up on the mat facing the senseis and the line will be in belt order. At the top of the line will be the highest grade and it will go down all the way to white belts. So if you are a beginner, follow the other beginners, whatever you do don’t go to the blackbelt end. 🙂 the line up will happen both at the start and end of the session.
Bowing happens a lot during Judo
Bowing:
Bowing is a massive part of judo, you will bow a number of times each and every session depending on how strict or traditional your club is. If you are religious and feel uncomfortable bowing I encourage you to research what the bow signifies in Japanese culture. In general it represents merely a handshake and as a show of respect. there has been lawsuits in America about the bowing culture of Judo but to be I just encourage you to do some of your own research about bowing and come up with your own beliefs.
– while entering and exiting the dojo
– while stepping on and off the mat
– to signify the start and end of the session
– to signify the start and end of a round of randori (or sparring)
– to your sensei
– you may even bow to the picture of jigoro kano as a sign of respect for creating such a wonderful art
Before your bow make sure you gi and belt are done u correctly. Check out this video if you dont know how to wear your belt and gi. With your gi make sure the left lapel goes over the right lapel.
Warm up:
Warm ups a different from club to club but in general you will do something that gets the blood pumping including running around the mat, crawling, handstands, forward rolls, backwards rolls etc.
This is where the coach will see how co-ordinated you are at judo. From here he will then get one of his students to run you through some breakfalls. Hopefully you have downloaded my breakfalls progressions DVD in the top right hand corner and are familiar with breakfalls.
Weird japanese names
You will hear a lot of weird japanese names, this is part of the awesomeness of Judo. With judo I can practice in any place in the world and have a pretty good idea about what is being said, simply through the japanese i have learnt in the dojo. I encourage you to grab a copy of a Judo book and begin looking over some basic judo terms.
Breakfalls (a lot of them)
You will be practicing a lot of breakfalls. Hopefully your instructor gets you to do at least 30 minutes of breakfalls but i encourage yo to practice, practice, practice breakfalls, as this is crucial for success in judo. In the perfect world i would get a beginner to do breakfalls and tumbling for the entire 2 hour sessions for a minimum of one month.
Learn a move:
During the class you will learn a number of Judo moves. I urge you to write them down and think about them but don’t be too hard on yourself if you don’t get it right.I have been doing judo for 23 years now and i still cannot do many techniques, they all take years to master but have fun and enjoy the journey.
Sparring (randori)
Sparring is dangerous for beginner Judoka
During training there will generally be a warm up, breakfalls then the coach will teach a technique, you will then go away and drill or practice the technique and then afterwards there will be sparring. I urge you NOT to do sparring in your first second or even tenth training session. Simply because judo is a high impact sport and injuries are usually pretty big.  But the decision is your really. You may be a very fit, athletic person so sparring will be ok for you but if you are a general person of general fitness I would recommend you ease into light sparring and gradually build up the intensity over a few months. Plus the key of judo is to learn judo, not just fight each other at training,.
End of training
After training you will line up, bow and then go home. During the last bow you may have to kneel down first. To do this you will go down on your left knee first followed by your right knee, after your bow you will then come up using your right knee first. dont worry about al this stuff though, you will gradually learn as you do more lessons.
Study
After training stid Judo, research, watch it on youtube, read blogs and websites and learn. The ore you learn the better you get. think about the techniques you learnt, think about HOW they actually work and by doing this you will start to develop your Judo quickly.
